Amount after GST
$1,100.00
Amount
$1,000.00
GST Amount
$100.00
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GST stands for “Goods and Services Tax”, and is a 10% tax applied to the sale of most goods, services, and items in Australia.
GST was finalised by the Australian government toward the end of 1999, and commenced on 1 July, 2000. It was an ambitious replacement to the previous wholesale sales tax system, and also included the phasing out of various State Government taxes and duties, along with bank taxes and stamp duty.
It is unlikely that GST will ever decrease in Australia, however there have been attempts in recent years to increase GST — by 5 per cent to 15% in 2015, and by 2.5 percent to 12.5% as recently as October, 2019.
The easiest way to calculate GST on a net price (exclusive of GST) is to multiply the amount by 1.1. To calculate the amount of GST on GST-inclusive goods and services, you’ll need to divide the amount by 11. The main mistake most people can make in calculating the net price of goods is to simply minus 10% from the total price.
Let’s see the calculation in practice. Let’s say we have a product that is $100 GST inclusive. To calculate the GST on the product, we will first calculate the amount of GST included, then multiply that figure by 10% (The GST rate).
IMPORTANT: If we were to simply subtract 10% from the GST-inclusive amount, the result would for $90. This is incorrect, as if we were to multiply $90 by 1.1, the result would be $99 instead of $100.
Although this may seem like only a minor difference in the example above, when applied to millions of dollars and thousands of individual sales across Australia, it’s clear that calculating GST correctly is vital to maintaining accurate financial records.
Price including GST | GST amount (10%) | Price excluding GST |
---|---|---|
$100 | $9.09 | $90.91 |
$200 | $18.18 | $181.82 |
$300 | $27.27 | $272.73 |
$400 | $36.36 | $363.64 |
$500 | $45.45 | $454.55 |
$600 | $54.55 | $545.45 |
$700 | $63.64 | $636.36 |
$800 | $72.73 | $727.27 |
$900 | $81.82 | $818.18 |
$1,000 | $90.91 | $909.09 |
If you are travelling through Australia and purchasing goods which have GST attached to their sale price, you can claim back the amount of GST on your purchases through Australia’s Tourist Refund Scheme (TRS). You can claim a refund if you personally purchased the goods, and:
Want to see how much GST you’ll claim back when departing Australia? You can quickly calculate the GST you can claim through the TRS by using our online GST calculator.
Businesses — including non-profit organisations and self-employed individuals — will be required to register for GST if they meet certain conditions listed below. If they fail to register for GST when you are required to, you may be forced to repay the GST on any sales made from the date you were required to register, including penalties and interest.
Business and organisations in Australia will register for GST:
In Australia, you must register for GST when your business or enterprise has a GST turnover (gross income minus GST) of A$75,000 or more. You will also need to register your business for GST within 21 days of exceeding that turnover threshold. You can use our GST calculator to calculate the GST turnover of your business.
You are also required to register for GST if:
You will only need to register for GST once, even if you operate more than one business, and can register online, over the phone, or through a registered agent when you first register your business.
Types of business/organisation | GST turnover requiring GST registration |
---|---|
Sole trader | $75,000+ |
Business | $75,000+ |
Non-profit organisation | $150,000+ |
Taxi or Limousine Drivers | Must register for GST regardless of turnover |
The advancements of technology and creation of a largely accessible digital marketplace allow Australians to both provide and access goods and services in a way unforeseen when GST was initially introduced.
To compensate for this change, the Australian government introduced GST registration for the ‘Sharing Economy’, which encompasses any type of economic activity conducted by an individual through a digital platform — such as a website or app.
If you provide services or assets through a platform for a fee, you will need to consider how income tax and GST applies to your earnings. You will need to ensure that you account for all income and provide this information to Australian Tax Office on your tax return, and register for GST if you meet any of the standard GST registration requirements for businesses or sole traders.
Some of the most common Sharing Economy activities include:
Use our Australian GST Calculator to quickly calculate how GST will apply to your earnings.
You are only required to charge GST on the sale of low-value imported goods if it is a taxable sale. A sale is taxable if:
From 1 July 2018, a sale is connected with Australia if the:
Goods and services exported from Australia are generally exempt from GST charges if they are exported from Australia within 60 days of:
Most basic foods, some education courses and some medical, health and care products and services are exempt from GST — a full list of products and services are listed below.
Products | Services |
---|---|
Most basic food Some medical aids and appliances Some medicines Some menstrual products (from 1 January 2019) Precious metals Supplies of accommodation and meals to residents of retirement villages by certain operators Cars for disabled people to use, as long as certain requirements are met Some telecommunications supplies Sales through duty-free shops | Some education courses, course materials and related excursions or field trips Some religious services and charitable activities Grants of land by government Farmland International mail Exports Sales of businesses as going concerns Eligible emissions units Some medical, health and care services Water, sewerage and drainage International transport and related matters Some childcare services |
When a business is sold complete with all the required equipment and structure in place for the business to operate as normal — i.e. continue without halt to operation, this is referred to as a ‘going concern’. The sale of a business as a going concern is GST-free if all of the following apply:
If you want to see how much you’d save in GST by selling your business as a going concern, you can use our Australian Business GST Calculator.
If you are importing goods into Australia, the GST you pay — if any — will depend on the type of goods you are importing and whether you are acquiring them for personal use or for resale through your business. The GST is 10% of the value of the imported product, while the value of the goods consist of:
If you are an individual purchasing goods from an overseas supplier, you won’t pay GST on any 'low-value goods'. These are classified as any goods on which customs duty and taxes is A$50 or less and have a customs value of less than A$1,000.
If you are purchasing goods for resale through a business in Australia, however, it’s highly likely that the value of the imported goods will be greater than A$1,000 — in which case you will also wish to claim GST credits on the goods you import. We’ve illustrated how this works in the example below:
John is the owner of ‘John’s Hardware’ — a hardware and DIY store registered for GST. John imports $20,000 worth of tools into Australia for sale through his business.
To quickly calculate the amount of GST payable on imported goods, you can use our free, online GST calculator.
You can quickly work out GST on a product or service by dividing the price of the product by 11. This will give you the amount of GST applied to the product.
You can quickly work out the cost of a product excluding GST by dividing the price of the product including GST by 11. This will give you the amount of GST applied to the product. You then multiply that figure by 10 to calculate the value of the product excluding GST.
If you operate a business with a GST turnover of $75,000 or greater In Australia, you will have 21 days after exceeding that figure to register your business for GST. If you fail to do so, you may face penalties and charges.
If you are self-employed, a sole trader, or a tradie in Australia, you will need to register for GST if you earn more than A$75,000, or if you drive a taxi (regardless of how much you earn).
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